Tag: Sin of Pride and Arrogance

Have you ever heard of the expression, “Proud as a peacock?” It is used of a person who is self-centered or has too high an opinion about themselves. They strut about with excessive self-esteem and look down upon others who they perceive as inferior to them.

An exaggerated opinion of yourself

The apostle Paul warned the Christians in Rome about their sin of conceit and a wrong attitude of superiority. He wrote:

“I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of yourself more highly than you ought to [not to have an exaggerated opinion of your own importance], but to rate your ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him.” – Romans 12:3

We are living in an age where men are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:2). Modesty and humility is considered to be a weakness. If someone is meek and humble in character, they aren’t considered to be a “go-getter” or someone to be admired.

Actually, the opposite is true. The prideful person is an offense to God. God opposes the proud but gives more grace to the humble (James 4:6). God calls us to be modest, unpretentious and sober-minded people, not thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We should not be condescending towards others and treat people with the same dignity and respect that we wish to be treated.

The humility of Jesus

The life of Jesus is our greatest example. Although Jesus was the Son of God and fully divine, He willingly humbled Himself in order to indentify with humanity and bring salvation to His elect people. He treated everyone – rich or poor – with equal respect. Therefere, after finishing His work on the cross, God the Father, highly exalted Jesus, as He will also exalt us if we follow Christ’s example.

“And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:8-11

Let us not be proud and haughty as many people are today. They strut around like peacocks showing off their money, expensive clothes, and other material possessions, and caring only for themselves. History teaches that many men have had their fortunes come to nothing because they became prideful and selfish and did not humble themself before God.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made this mistake once, and he later regretted it. The Bible tells us that when he became proud of the kingdom he’d built and began boasting about it, God humbled him with mental illness. Because of his arrogance, he lost his mind and became like a beast. He even lived with the animals of the field, and ate grass like oxen. After 7 years, God restored his mind once again and He was able to repent of His pride and give God the glory. You can read the entire account in Daniel chapter 4.

So let us always walk humbly before our God and give Him the glory for all the blessings He his has bestowed. Let us also deal compassionately with others and be merciful to those who need our help. We must not forget the words of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who taught us that “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:5-8